Interactive lesson

The herb harvest calendar, step by step

Interactive lesson: what to pick through the year and how to read the right moment from the plant and the signs in nature, not from the date.

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The whole lesson as text

1. A calendar for your area

The calendar gives the month; the plant and where you live decide the exact day.

Lowland UK and Ireland — The months in the calendar are for the Midlands, southern and eastern England, the lowlands of Wales and most of Ireland away from the coast.
Mild coasts earlier — In south-west England, on the Cornish and Irish coasts and in the Channel Islands everything is 1–3 weeks earlier. Winters are mild, so rosemary and bay stay outdoors.
North and high ground later — In northern England, Scotland and on ground at 200–400 m everything is 1–3 weeks later; in the uplands above 400 m, 2–4 weeks. The season is short, often only one cut of mint and lemon balm.
South side, against a wall — The south side of a hill, against a wall, is a few days ahead of the north side of the same hill.

Why: In a warm year the limes in southern England flower in mid-June, while in a cold year in the Scottish Borders they open only in late July. If you pick by the date, you often come a week late or pick buds.

After a warm March everything starts two weeks earlier; after late snow it is behind.
In the US and Canada go by your USDA zone: zones 7–9 run 2–4 weeks earlier, zones 3–5 2–4 weeks later.

2. Rules for picking day

Whatever the month, the same rules apply to every harvest.

A dry day, in the morning — Pick once the dew has dried, before the midday heat. Not after rain: the herbs must be dry.
Leaves and tops — Pick leaves before flowering or right at the start. Tops of St John's wort, wild thyme and oregano from the start of flowering up to full flower.
Flowers, fruit, seed — Pick flowers freshly open, 1–3 days. Fruit fully ripe but still firm. Seed once it turns brown.
Roots and how much — Roots in autumn when the top growth dies back, or in early spring before the leaves come, usually from the second year. In the garden pick a third of the plant at most.

Why: Pick by the stage of the plant, not the date. Leaves are best before flowering, flowers freshly open, roots once the leaves die back, and fruit fully ripe.

In the afternoon heat herbs wilt and lose essential oil.
In the wild pick a third of a site at most (H16-04).